Heart of the Team
by Genevieve Kelly
Summary: Connor struggles with trying to figure out how to get the artifact to work after returning home from a terrifying future. As the team work together to track down a creature and return it through its anomaly, Connor is hurt. Can they save him?
1. Chapter 1

The Heart of the Team

Chapter One

A woman wandered through the dark, cold, and damp land. Two men followed behind her carrying weapons, despite the woman's assurance that they were not necessary. There weren't many animals or other creatures around, except the harmless ones that remained at the bottom of the bodies of water throughout the land. There were no other humans around because humans were yet to evolve in this period.

Helen Cutter and her hired guns wandered only a short distance from the phenomenon that brought them to this other time; an anomaly. It was a portal on the Earth that connected to another time.

Helen used these anomalies to gather information on both past and future periods on the Earth so that she would be able to soon stop evolution in its tracks in order to save the Earth from human made pollution, wars, pain, and suffering. No one knew of her true motives. If they had, no one would agree to help her.

She grew closer and closer to her goal daily ever since she had murdered her own husband, Nick. She had devoted her time, abilities, and resources to discovering how to do it. All she needed was the artifact. This was the device which she had discovered through an anomaly that led to the future. However, at the time when she had access to it, it was stolen from her by her husband the day she killed him.

The artifact was now in the hands of the ARC team, whom she knew were still struggling to discover what it was capable of as well. Helen's trip through this anomaly was a way to collect a sample of something that would give her a way to get ahold of it once again.

When Helen reached the shallow edge of the sea, she knelt down as she pulled out a test tube from the backpack she carried on her back. She took a cotton swab from the tube and reached into the water to collect a sample of the algal and bacterial substance that covered the sea floor.

When she was finished, Helen gently placed the test tube back inside her bag and stood to join her men. Together, the three of them walked back to where the anomaly shimmered like diamonds in the sky and stepped back through to their own time.

Meanwhile…

It was very early in the morning and the ARC was quiet. Everyone was still at home asleep, except for Connor. He sat inside Nick Cutter's office where the artifact was held. Connor was looking over the device, still struggling with how to turn it on.

Weeks ago, he and Sarah managed to do so for only a few seconds using light somehow. However, he had no idea how to repeat the process. The more he worked on it, the more frustrated he became. Mainly, because he felt he was letting the professor down. Surely he would have figured it out by now if Helen hadn't have murdered him.

Connor was angry with himself that he didn't try harder to save him. He reached him before he died. If only he had continued to carry him out instead of listening to Cutter when his mentor told him to just sit with him.

Abby, Danny, Sarah, and even Becker did all they could to assure him that he had no reason to blame himself and most of the time he was able to push these angry feelings down and believe them, but after days like yesterday, he was more vulnerable to them.

They had just come back through an anomaly that brought them to a future that was ugly and terrifying, full of monsters that they had decided to call predators since there was no official name for something that didn't exist yet and giant insect like creatures. There were no humans left in existence.

All of them made it back alive and in one piece and then Abby kissed him after all that. For a brief time, he felt at peace and truly happy, but she had yet to give him permission to move back into her flat. So, he was still homeless. Living with Lester was miserable, although he was still somewhat grateful to have somewhere to stay. It was better than nothing.

The peaceful feeling from Abby's kiss didn't last long after she left to go home. He was left alone with his thoughts from that day. He was terrified that if he couldn't find a way to get the artifact to work, the future they had seen would come to pass and it would be his fault. So, Connor stayed with the artifact and looked over all of Professor Cutter's work that survived the fire Helen had caused in the ARC months ago.

Connor had lost track of the time, until Danny suddenly walked up from behind him. The moment Danny placed his hand gently on Connor's shoulder, Connor jumped ten feet in the air. If it weren't for seeing how exhausted the young man was, Danny would have laughed at how funny he looked a moment ago.

"Connor, did you not go home to get any sleep last night at all?" Danny asked. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing," Connor replied as he turned around again to keep scanning through the books in front of him. "I just had too much on my mind to sleep. You may not know what it's like, but believe me, there are times when I wish that I wasn't a genius. There would be a lot less pressure. Cutter would have figured out the artifact by now. Now it is my turn to do it. What if I can't and that future happens? It will be my fault."

Danny grabbed Connor by his shoulders and turned the young man around to face him as he responded, "Connor, listen to me. What we saw in that future has not happened yet and it isn't going to happen. You don't have to wear yourself out day after day to work on it alone. We will figure out how to stop it together."

Connor put his head down and answered, "I hope your right. Please don't tell Abby about this. There's no need to worry her more."

"You have my word," Danny replied. "Now, how are things between you and Abby again? I take it things are much better since that kiss the two of you shared yesterday."

"I am not really sure," Connor said. "I mean, I am not always so good at reading her. What if she only kissed me as a way of saying thank you or sorry? What if it didn't mean anything? How am I…?"

Danny interrupted, "Connor, relax! You and Abby have something special. You just need to admit to her how you feel about her. I think that it what she is waiting for."

Connor responded, "That's easy for you to say. I'd better get back to work before Lester comes in and yells at me for something. Thank you, Danny."

Danny was about to say something in response, until all of a sudden Connor's anomaly detector began to go off and people began to run around the ARC in frenzy. He and Connor ran over to the computer and as soon as they had figured out the anomaly's location, they quickly called in the rest of the team.


	2. Chapter 2

The Heart of the Team

Chapter Two

Danny and Connor reached the garage, where Becker was just pulling in. Becker heard the alarm and quickly rounded up his men so that they could leave immediately. Abby arrived just as they were all finished loading the car with their gear.

She ran over to them and asked, "What is going on? I take it another anomaly has appeared?"

Danny smirked and replied, "When is it ever not an anomaly. We've located it down in the subway."

"The subway?" Abby asked. "If some kind of creature comes out of the anomaly, there could be a large number of casualties."

"We know," Connor responded. "This is why we are in a bit of a hurry. For once, I would like a day without having to risk our lives to save everyone. Is that too much to ask?"

Becker answered, "Apparently it is, so I suggest we get going before Lester comes out here to ask us why we haven't closed the anomaly down yet."

Becker drove Danny, Connor, and Abby, while his men took two other cars behind them. Abby dialed Sarah's number and asked her to join them as soon as possible. After fifteen minutes, they arrived and walked into the subway station. As they looked around, they saw that no one was running around or looking panicked in any way. Connor pulled out his detector and pointed them toward the right direction.

Connor led them all down to the tunnels that ran underneath the streets of London and to an area that had been closed off due to a fire that broke out years ago. The track and tunnel were never repaired and long since abandoned. Finally, they came upon the anomaly and Connor, with help from one of Becker's men, worked to set up the machine he had built to close them.

However, before he could get very far, a large dinosaur came thundering out of the anomaly as if it were in a stampede. It was about twenty-three feet in length. Danny pulled Abby out of the way and the men stood to the sides of the tunnel and began to fire their guns. The bullets had no effect as they just bounced off the creature.

Becker had to throw himself over Connor in order to get him out of the dinosaur's path, or he would have been trampled. Luckily, Connor's gear wasn't damaged much, just knocked over by the dinosaur's large tail.

"We have to go after that thing before it can cause much damage," Becker said as he stood and leaned down to help Connor stand.

"What kind of dinosaur was that?" Danny asked.

Connor answered, "It's a panoplosaurus, or a totally armored lizard. The scales on its back act like armor to protect its body and it can cause damage, but luckily, it is only an herbivore from the late Cretaceous period. It won't eat anyone."

Abby replied sarcastically, "Oh that's great. No worries then."

"If we can't shoot it, then how are we going to stop it?" one of Becker's men asked.  
"We are just going to have to lure it back through the anomaly," Danny said. "We've done it before. Abby, we are going to need your expertise. Connor, I want you to stay here and finish fixing your machine. Close the anomaly and we will let you know when to open it again."

Becker added, "Two of my men will stay here to look after you. Let's go!"

Connor got back to setting up the anomaly closer, while Danny, Abby, Becker, and the rest of his men, aside from the two he had been assigned to him, left to go after the dinosaur. Once the machine was working, Connor used it to close the anomaly like Becker had said. He then walked over to the two men to give them each a high five, but they weren't responsive. Instead, they just looked at Connor as if he were child they were forced to babysit against their will.

So, Connor just walked back near his machine and sat down on the edge of the tracks, while he waited for the others to return. After a few minutes, Connor thought he heard a noise coming from down the tunnel, but shrugged it off when he saw no one there. The soldiers were only talking quietly amongst themselves.

Suddenly, two gunshots sounded from the same direction Connor thought he heard the noise from. Connor jumped to his feet as the shots were fired and the soldiers fell down dead onto the tracks.

Helen and three men walked in from the dark tunnel and Connor slowly backed up as he noticed the men had their weapons trained on him. Helen only stood there with a smile on her face. The men stopped moving forward, but Helen continued to walk closer to Connor.

"Helen?" Connor asked. "What are you doing here?"

"I came here because you have something that I need," she answered.

Connor responded, "If it's the artifact you want, you can forget about it. You will never get ahold of it. It's not like we have it here anyway. You just killed two of Becker's soldiers for nothing."

Helen replied, "On the contrary. I knew you wouldn't have the artifact with you, but your friends from the ARC will bring it to me if they want to save your life. I came here for you, Connor. I am sorry that it had to be this way."

Before Connor could say or do anything, Helen quickly raised, what looked like a tranquilizer gun and shot a dart straight into his chest. Connor looked down at the dart, pulled it out from his chest, and then collapsed to the ground unconscious. The dart rolled out of his hand and landed close to his side. Helen walked over and knelt down to pick it up.

Before she stood, she ran her fingers on the side of the young man's face and whispered, "What a pity. You could have done so much if you had just met me before you met Nick. He stunted your growth."

She stood and then walked over to take a look at the machine that Connor had built to close the anomaly. She examined it, and considered taking it with her, but decided against it. She didn't want to risk another creature coming out of the anomaly, while Connor was vulnerable and alone. Besides, she didn't want to close the anomalies. They helped her to get what she wanted.

Helen walked away with a smile on her face and left the tunnel, followed by the men who accompanied her. If it weren't for Connor being unconscious and the two dead soldiers, it would have been as if Helen was never there.


	3. Chapter 3

The Heart of the Team

Chapter Three

Becker, Danny, Abby, and the soldiers ran after the panoplosaurus as quickly as they could. By the time they caught up to it, it had reached the end of the tunnel where people were screaming and running for cover inside the last station of this subway's route. So far, no one was hurt badly, but the dinosaur was causing much damage to the tunnel, as it struggled to find a way out. It was trapped between the edges of the tracks and the wall in front of it.

Becker's men began to shoot at it until Abby shouted for them to stop. Becker ordered his men to stand down and go help any of the civilians who were down. Abby pulled up her tranquilizer gun and tried to shoot a dart at the creature. However, like the soldiers' bullets, the dart bounced off.

"Great!" Becker shouted. "If we can't shoot it and we can't knock it out, how are we supposed to stop it?"

"As I said before," Danny answered. "We need to lure it back through the anomaly."

Becker looked over at him and replied, "Well, that sounds easy. How on earth are we supposed to do that? First of all, we need to be able to get to turn around and second, Connor said that it isn't a meat eater. We can't use ourselves as bait to get it to follow us."

Abby responded, "Then, we need to find something that it will be interested in. Get some of your men to go and get some animal feed. Hay, plants, anything that horses and other farm animals would eat. And get as much of it as you can. They can consume hundreds of pounds of plants a day in order to maintain their energy."

Sarah just arrived as Becker and his men concentrated on trying to help the creature to turn around by using their guns to fire away at the concrete walls that surrounded the tracks, once the rest of the people were all evacuated from the station.

The creature roared angrily as the bullets and pieces of the stone erupted around it. The soldiers' guns were not enough to break the walls alone, but the thrashing of the dinosaur was enough as they finally began to give way.

Danny ran over to Becker and shouted, "I don't think we're going to need that food."

Abby replied, "Danny's right. I think it's going to come after us because we made it angry. We just have to keep it from going down the left tunnel. We can get it through the anomaly by going through ourselves and then have Connor close it as soon as we come back through. Call him and tell him to be ready."

"He isn't answering the phone," Danny shouted again after he tried to reach Connor on his phone.

"He better have gotten that machine of his working or I'm going to kill him," Becker answered.

Danny responded, "Don't worry! He did it."

Danny, Sarah, and Abby took off down the tunnel before the dinosaur was free so that they would be able to get back to Connor, since neither one of them were able to reach him on his cell phone. Becker stayed behind to help his men finish their task.

Finally, the walls gave way and the panoplosaurus turned and charged directly at Becker and the rest of his men. They quickly turned and ran as fast as they could through the tunnel and reached where the tunnel split off into two separate tracks. Becker turned to fire towards the creature in order to make sure that it continued to follow after them down the right tunnel. Luckily, it did.

As soon as they reached the section of the tunnel where the anomaly was, Danny, Sarah, and Abby were shocked to find Connor and both of Becker's men down. Abby screamed Connor's name as she ran over to him. Danny and Sarah quickly checked the soldiers and found that they were both dead.

They looked up and over at Abby for confirmation about Connor, but before they received an answer, Danny could hear Becker yell out his name and scream for him to get the anomaly reopened. Danny ran over to Connor's machine and quickly did just that.

Becker and two of his men ran straight through the anomaly and the panoplosaurus chased through it after them. Danny waited impatiently for Becker and the soldiers to reappear and as soon as they did, closed the anomaly down once again.

When it was over, Danny ran over to Abby and Connor, who lay unconscious in her arms. Tears streamed down her face as she looked up at Danny for some kind of explanation as to what happened. However, he had no idea what to say. Sarah could only stare at them.

Becker ran to go check on both of his men. As he saw the blood that pooled around them from what he saw were bullet wounds to their chests, he knew that they were dead, but he leaned down to check their pulses anyway to make sure.

"What on earth happened here?" Becker asked angrily. "Connor, is he…?"

"Connor's alive," Danny answered quickly. "He's just unconscious. Thank God."

As the soldiers went to take care of their men, Becker slowly walked over to Danny, Abby, and Connor and asked, "Who would come in here, kill two soldiers, just knock Connor unconscious, and not steal anything at all?"

Abby glared up at Becker and responded, "It has to be Helen. Think about it. If anyone wanted to target Connor or the other two men, they would do it when they were alone and somewhere else. Who else would have the guts to attack someone when there were others around? Why kill the soldiers and then leave the Connor alone? Helen had to have done something to him. We have to get him back to the ARC now!"

"I've got him," Danny replied as he lifted Connor into his arms and carried him out of the tunnel, with Abby, Sarah, and Becker following behind them.

Becker drove them as fast as he could and made it there in less than ten minutes. Danny pulled Connor out and quickly carried him inside to the hospital wing inside their facility. Sarah followed Becker as they both went to find Lester to explain what they knew about what happened in the subway, which wasn't much except for what happened with the dinosaur.

Abby quickly followed after Danny and was held back by the staff after she tried to go in to stay with Connor. As Danny laid Connor on one of the beds, doctors quickly surrounded Connor and began to work on him to find out what caused him to fall unconscious.

Danny then walked out and took a hold of Abby as she struggled in the staff members' arms. She was still crying, but more than anything she was angry because they had all left Connor behind to be hurt.

"Abby, Connor is in good hands," Danny said. "I am sure he is going to be just fine."

"You don't know that for sure, Danny," Abby replied. "Helen is a sadistic witch. God knows what she is capable of. She murdered her own husband in cold blood after he went back inside a burning building to save her. Connor is her next biggest threat because he understands and believes in Cutter's work more than anyone else here. Even more than me and more than Jenny did."

Danny looked through the windows of the operation room and then responded, "I didn't know Cutter or much of what he fought for except for what we are doing now, but I do believe in Connor. In a lot of ways, he reminds me of my kid brother. If she did do something to him, we will find a way to help him no matter what. I promise you."

Abby cried as Danny held her in his arms to comfort her. Sarah, Becker, and Lester came walking over to them a few minutes later and stood there in silence while looking through the windows.

"Becker and Miss Paige just apprised me of what happened in the subway," Lester said. "Though I am disappointed in the amount of damage all of you created while trying to apprehend the panopla… panoplo… whatever the name of that dinosaur was, I am willing to overlook it due to what happened to Connor and Becker's men. I have sent men to inform the men's families of their deaths. They know their cover stories. Do any of you have any idea what happened down there?"

"We suspect that Helen Cutter had something to do with this," Danny answered. "What are the odds they were attacked at the site of an anomaly? The real question is, why would she kill two soldiers, knock Connor unconscious, and then not steal anything? She could have taken Connor's machine, but she didn't."

Lester responded, "You believe she did something more to him than we realize?"

Becker nodded and said, "She obviously didn't want my men to stop her from doing whatever it is she did. She took them out without hesitation."

"Well then," Lester replied. "If that's the case, then we will do whatever it takes to save him. Despite his bumbling and childish ways, he is a valuable member of this team. Find her."

Danny remained outside the operating room with Abby, as Lester, Sarah, and Becker walked away to do what they could to try to locate Helen. Abby paced the hallway waiting for the doctors to explain what was wrong with Connor.

She didn't have to say anything to anyone about how she felt about Connor. Her actions spoke loud enough for everyone to know that she loved him, as his actions showed the same about her. No one could understand why neither of them could share how they felt for each other, but Danny hoped that after this experience, they would finally let go of that fear. They deserved to be happy.


	4. Chapter 4

The Heart of the Team

Chapter Four

It had been about two hours before anyone came out to talk to those who waited to hear about Connor's condition. Danny went off to help Sarah, Becker, and even Lester in any way he could because he couldn't handle just sitting around waiting for the news. Abby, however, was finally let in after an hour to sit beside Connor, while the doctors were in their labs checking for results from his blood work.

A doctor walked into Lester's office in order to inform him that they finally were able to share some information. Lester then called Danny to tell him to gather the others and meet him outside of Connor's room. Abby stood from the chair she was sitting in and joined the others.

As everyone arrived, the doctor began to explain what they knew saying, "You were right about Mr. Temple not just being knocked unconscious. As we ran his blood work, we discovered some kind of toxin spreading throughout his bloodstream. It is nothing that we have seen before, but we have found traces of algae inside the toxin. It looks similar to the same kind of red algae that you would find in a food poisoning victim who ate bad seafood. We looked over his body to find out how she injected the toxin and we found a puncture wound in his chest, close to his heart. It looks big enough to be from some sort of dart, probably a tranquilizer dart. Whatever…"

Abby interrupted, "This toxin isn't fatal, is it? Please tell me that you can help him?"

"Whatever it is, it won't kill him," the doctor answered. "However, we have been trying to flush the toxin from his system and it just seems to spread faster. I would keep an eye on him when he comes to. It must do something. We will keep on doing research to help him."

Sarah asked, "Will he wake up soon?"

"He should before too long," the doctor responded.

"Thank you, doctor," Danny replied. "Helen must have found whatever this is through one of the anomalies. Abby, stay with him until he wakes up. We will keep trying to track down Helen."

"Something tells me that we will hear from her before too long," Becker answered. "She didn't kill two of my men and infect Connor with whatever it is she infected him with for kicks. She wants something and figures doing this will get us to give it to her."

Abby said, "It has to be the artifact. Helen is well ahead of us with information about these anomalies. She killed Cutter when he didn't give it to her. It has got to be what she is after."

Danny added, "And we can't give it to her. God only knows what she plans to do with it."

"If I do see her," Abby began. "I swear I will kill her. I don't care if that makes me a murderer too."

When she finished saying that, Abby walked away and went back to sit beside Connor. Both Danny and Becker lowered their heads, while Sarah and Lester walked away to go back to their research.

Becker spoke as he observed Abby with Connor through the window saying, "I agree with Abby. I'll be happy to help her finish Helen off once and for all. I was in charge of those men. I was supposed to protect Cutter and I failed. Now, I've failed Connor too because I left him alone."

Danny looked over at Becker and responded, "You didn't leave him alone. Helen knows what she's doing. If Connor came with us, then she would have attacked him some other time. This is not your fault. It is no one's fault except for Helen's. We'll find her and Connor will be just fine."

A few hours later, Connor finally began to come around. Abby had fallen asleep with her head by his left arm. As he stirred, she quickly rose and took his hand in hers to try to rouse him fully awake. When he finally did, he looked into Abby's eyes and made a small smile, although it didn't last long.

He quickly squeezed his eyes closed as dizziness swept through him. Abby placed her free hand on the side of his face as a way to show him comfort. Connor slowly opened his eyes again.

"Connor, are you ok?" she asked. "What do you feel?"

"I feel dizzy, that's all," he replied. "I'm fine, Abby. What happened?"

"We were hoping you could tell us that, Mate," Danny said as he walked into the room, followed by Becker and Sarah. "Do you remember anything about what happened down there this morning?"

Connor looked at them quizzically and asked, "Down where?"

Becker responded, "Down in the subway tunnel. We left you with two of my men to fix your machine in order to close the anomaly. You fixed it, but you were attacked soon after. Don't you remember any of this?"

Connor looked away as if trying to remember something and then slowly shook his head as he answered, "No, I don't. The last thing I remember is going through an anomaly that led to some time in the future to rescue Abby's brother. I take it we made it back?"

"Yeah, we made it back," Abby replied. "I'll be right back."

"Did I say something wrong?" Connor asked. "I mean, aside from siding with you and Becker. Do you think she'll ever forgive me for that?"

Danny nodded, "Don't worry. She already forgave you. Jack told her about you fighting to get Rex back. The two of you are solid."

Connor turned away and asked, "Why don't I remember any of this? Do you have any idea what happened to me?"

"We have reasons to believe that Helen was the one who attacked you this morning in the subway," Sarah answered. "She killed Becker's two men and knocked you unconscious with some sort of tranquilizer dart. She didn't take anything, so don't worry about that."

"I am sorry about you men, Becker," Connor said. "If Helen didn't take anything, then why kill them and knock me out?"

Becker nodded and responded, "We are working that out. Just get some rest. We will take care of everything."

Connor replied, "I just wish that I could remember something. I don't like that I've lost a whole day."

"You'll remember in time," Abby answered as she came back in. "You're a genius. You always manage to remember everything."

"Just get some sleep," Danny said. "The dizziness and headache will go away in no time."

Everyone besides Abby walked out of the room and began to walk through the halls of the ARC to go talk to Lester up in his office. Abby sat back down by Connor's bed as he slowly drifted off to sleep. Abby ran her fingers through his hair and watched him closely.

She smiled when she remembered a time when she threw a bit of lettuce over him for Rex in order to get him to wake up. She missed having Connor in her flat. It wasn't the same without him. Once he was better, she was going to invite him to move back in.


	5. Chapter 5

The Heart of the Team

Chapter Five

Connor left the hospital wing the next morning. The dizziness disappeared, but the headaches seemed to linger. They weren't bad and they came and went, so he decided not to tell the doctor about them. He didn't tell Abby or the others either because he didn't want to worry anyone.

Abby wanted him to take him back to Lester's so that he could take some time to relax, but Connor insisted that he stay to work. There was a lot to do and besides, the anomalies never seemed to take a day off. He couldn't afford to either. So, he walked up to Lester's office to talk to him about being all right to continue working.

"Connor," Lester began as Connor entered. "It is good to see you up and about. I assume you are feeling better, yes?"

"I feel just fine, Lester," Connor replied. "I wanted to let you know that I am fine to get back to work. There is still a lot of Cutter's research to go through."

Lester nodded and responded, "Very good, but first I need you to look at the anomaly detector. There is something strange going on with it. It started last night, but since you were unable to…"

Connor interrupted saying, "I will get working on it right away. Always a pleasure, Sir."

Connor walked out of the office and headed toward the main room of the ARC where his hand made anomaly detector waited for him to come and see what was wrong with it. When he arrived, he found Abby, Danny, and Becker standing near the machine talking about something, but as soon as he got close to them, they stopped talking and stepped aside to let him get to the detector.

"Talking about me, are ya?" Connor asked.

"No," Abby stuttered. "I mean yes, but we were just concerned that you are rushing back into work. You don't have to, you know. You can take some time off."

Danny added, "Abby's right. You have nothing to prove."

Connor smiled softly and answered, "Guys, I assure you that I am just fine. My machine needs to be fixed and no offense, but I am the only one smart enough to do it. If it isn't working properly, then an anomaly may open and cause more damage than just a busted subway tunnel if we can't get to it right away. Besides, there's a lot more work to do than just this."

"All right, we will let you work, but I am going to stay here to help you," Abby replied. "I can keep you company."

"You just want to keep an eye on me," Connor said. "I am not blind."

"Nope," Becker agreed. "And you're certainly not stupid either. Don't worry. We'll be discrete. What do you think I've been doing around here besides being your bodyguard? Believe me that is not all."

Everyone laughed as Danny tapped Connor gently on the back of his left shoulder and then he and Becker walked away, leaving Connor and Abby alone. Abby looked at Connor as he began running his fingers across the keyboards. She was amazed at how fast he did so and that he could do it without even thinking. Connor then stopped typing and went on to fiddle with the cords behind the computers.

Abby figured that this might be the best time for her to talk to him about moving back in, but she struggled with coming up with the right words to say. Like Connor, she had trouble expressing how she felt about him too. Connor stood as she was about to say something, but before she could, Becker ran back in shouting their names.

"Connor, Abby, a new anomaly has just opened downtown inside an old club!" he shouted. "We've got to move!"

"But, I haven't finished yet," Connor responded. "I mean, I just have to hit a button or too, but… I mean… How do you know about another anomaly?"

Danny ran in and replied, "Apparently, three to four small, vicious monsters came out of it and began to attack people. Calls have been going into 911 like crazy."

Connor threw his hands up and said, "Great! How are we supposed to catch them? Have they gotten out?"

"I guess we'll find out when we get there," Becker answered as they all arrived in the garage.

Sarah met them there and helped them pack the cars with their gear. Becker drove as fast as he could go, despite the traffic, and arrived at the club. There were once again people running around screaming. It was then that they spotted the first of the creatures that had come from the anomaly.

Connor shouted, "It looks like a microceratops. It's a cousin to the triceratops and is the smallest of all the horned faced dinosaurs. They are not going to be easy to catch."

"The three of you go after that one," Becker ordered a few of his men. "Use your tranquilizer guns, unless you have absolutely no other choice. We need to try to get them back through the anomaly alive."

As they ran off, another microceratops came running out of the club. Danny grabbed a gun and ran off after it, followed closely by Abby with her own gun. Connor stayed behind with Becker and Sarah and followed them into the club. As they went in, they found two people down on the ground and there were broken tables, chairs, and glass strewed everywhere.

Becker checked on the people and discovered them to both be unconscious. One of them was bleeding pretty badly from a shoulder wound and the other seemed to have fallen into one of the tables. Sarah went to work on helping them as best as she could and then once they were awake, guided them to an ambulance waiting outside.

Connor just stood back and seemed to stare at the scene in front of him. Becker didn't really notice as he spotted the anomaly in another room of the bar. He moved toward it leaving Connor alone. However, before Becker got too close, a triceratops came thundering out from the anomaly and headed toward the main room of the club.

Becker ran after it, trying to shoot it with the darts, but two of them didn't seem to take effect. The large dinosaur came charging directly at Connor and Becker shouted for him to get out of the way, but he didn't seem to hear him. Instead, he just continued staring ahead, frozen in fear.

Just as the dinosaur was about to run over Connor, Danny suddenly threw himself at Connor and managed to push him and himself out of harm's way. As the triceratops came outside, Becker's remaining men fired several more darts at it. Becker ran past Connor and Danny on the ground and joined his men in bringing the creature down. It finally went down hard. Becker nodded at his men, as he ran back inside the club to check on Danny and Connor.

Connor stood quickly and backed away from Danny slowly as he cried, "What on earth was that thing?"

Danny looked at Becker and then back at Connor as he answered, "That was a triceratops, I think. You are better in that field than we are. Are you all right, Connor?"

"No, I'm not all right," he replied. "What is going on? Where are we?"

"We are downtown," Becker responded. "Another anomaly just opened not too long ago. Don't you remember?"

Connor looked terrified as he stared at his friends and said, "No, I don't. The last thing I remember is being in the hospital wing. Abby was there making sure I was all right after… after something. I had just woken up feeling dizzy. Where's Abby? Is she all right?"

Danny answered, "Abby's fine. After we brought down the microceratops we chased after, she stayed behind with it to make sure that it was ok. We need to get you back to the ARC. Something is definitely wrong. You are not fine."

"You take Connor back," Becker said. "I'll stay here to help put things back in order. We still have another microceratops to find, maybe two."

Danny helped Connor calm down enough as he guided him to a car. Becker watched as they drove off and then headed off to find Abby. He wasn't sure how he was going to tell her what had just happened to Connor. He knew she wasn't going to take the news well at all and would surely become even more determined to kill Helen for whatever it is she had done to him. The truth was, he was even more determined to kill her as well. Connor was his friend.


	6. Chapter 6

The Heart of the Team

Chapter Six

Becker slowly walked over to where Abby was kneeling on the ground beside the creature she and Danny had brought down. He observed as she was bandaging up its leg. It looked like it was somehow broken.

As he came up behind her, Abby said, "It broke its leg in the chase. It isn't bad. He'll be just fine soon. Have the rest of the microceratops been caught?"

Becker nodded and replied, "My men are rounding the last of them now. Abby, I… There's something that happened."

Abby asked, "What is it?"

"Connor he, ah…" Becker tried to say.

"What happened to Connor?" she asked impatiently as she stood and looked at Becker for the first time since he had arrived. "Tell me, is he all right?"

"He was nearly trampled by a triceratops that came out of the anomaly," Becker answered. "Danny got back to us in time to save him, but that isn't the bad thing. Connor froze just before the dinosaur came out. He didn't move out of the way because he froze. When we finally shook him out of the daze, he freaked out, asking us where he was. The last thing he remembered was yesterday as he came through in the hospital wing with you at his bedside."

Tears slowly fell down her face as Abby responded, "He lost his memory again? I have to get to him."

Becker grabbed Abby as she struggled to get away from him and said, "We need to finish up here, then I will take you to him. Abby, I need you help to get the dinosaurs back through the anomaly. Sarah was helping the injured men and is now in the process of setting up Connor's machine to close the anomaly. Once we get the dinosaurs back to it, she will open it up again and we will put them back through. Then, we can go back to the ARC. Please, Abby. Danny is with Connor. He is in good hands."

Abby replied, "You're right. Let's get this over with."

Becker helped Abby carry the dinosaur down the few blocks that it took to get back to the bar where the anomaly was. Sarah had managed to close the anomaly just fine and waited to open it until Becker gave her the word to do so. His men had already arrived with the other three creatures they had captured.

Becker said, "All right, Sarah. Go ahead and open it. Let's get these things back home. The sooner we do that, the sooner we can be done."

Sarah walked over to the machine set up in the middle of the room and opened the anomaly as Becker told her to. Becker and his men put up their guns to fire at something, in case something else decided to come through. Once it reopened, they waited a few minutes to make sure it was safe. Then, everyone proceeded to pick up the microceratops and carry them through.

The triceratops was loaded onto flat-bed truck and then was brought into the bar through the giant hole in the wall, made by the dinosaur as it broke out. It took a lot of effort, but after a half hour, they all finally managed to accomplish what they needed to and close the anomaly back up for good.

Abby ran over to the car, followed closely by Becker, and Sarah. Together, the three of them drove off to get back to the ARC, where hopefully the doctors would have some more information for them about what was wrong with Connor. Abby was terrified about what she might learn. She had her suspicions, but she refused to dwell on them until they were confirmed.

Meanwhile…

Danny and Connor walked through the corridors of the ARC, which led them once again to the hospital wing. The doctors took Connor back inside the exam room, while Danny remained outside in the waiting room. Lester walked over to him a few minutes later and asked Danny for an explanation as to what happened.

Danny responded, "There were about four of the microceratops that came out of the anomaly. Abby and I ran after one of them, while Connor and Becker stayed behind to take care of another. Becker's men chased after the rest of them. Anyway, as soon as Abby and I caught ours, I ran back to help Connor and Becker, while she remained behind to take care of the creature because it had broken its leg during the chase. As soon as I arrived inside the bar, I saw that Connor stood frozen in place, just staring at nothing. Suddenly, a triceratops came charging through the bar and would have trampled Connor. Luckily, I got to him in time. Becker and his men took care of the creature, while I tried to help Connor. He was unresponsive for a minute, until Becker and I were finally able to wake him up. When he came to, Connor freaked out and had no memory of what happened to him since he awoke here yesterday with Abby. Something is very wrong with him."

Lester nodded and said, "I see. Unfortunately, we have no idea what is causing these effects, except for the algae substance Helen has injected him with. Hopefully, the doctors will have more for us this time."

"I'll keep you apprised," Danny replied. "You keep working on trying to locate Helen. She may be the only one who can tell us what she's done. I will force it out of her if I have to."

"Very good," Lester agreed. "Oh, and Quinn, be sure to shower as soon as you get the chance. You look like you could use one."

Danny looked down at himself and saw that Lester was right. He was covered in dirt and rubble from chasing the dinosaur and tackling Connor out of the larger dinosaur's way. He was grateful that it wasn't beer he was covered in. That happened to him once at a party he went to. It wasn't a pleasant experience.

Danny waited alone with his thoughts until Abby and Becker came running in about forty-five minutes later. Abby tried to go into the room where Connor was being examined by the doctors, but Danny pulled her back and said that it would probably be best to wait with them.

As one of the doctors finally came out and to explain what they had found, she asked, "How's Connor?"

The doctor replied, "I am afraid that the news I have to share with you is not good. I still don't know what this algae substance is, but when I did a thorough examination of him, I found that he has developed something similar to what is known as amnesic shellfish poisoning. Basically, kainoid amino acids, named after another phycotoxin called kainic acid, are agonists of kainate glutamate receptors and exhibit highly potent neuroexcitatory activity. It was first isolated from a variety of red algae in Japan in 1958, but not associated with human illness until it was recovered from a batch of mussels that were responsible for an outbreak of 'food poisoning' in eastern Canada in 1987 that affected over 150 people. Many of the cases featured neurological symptoms including short-term memory loss, leading the illness to be named amnesic shellfish poisoning. The whole memory loss thing probably ties in with the fact that the hippocampus is associated with memory storage and is damaged by the toxin. Glutamate is an excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain, so a glut of domoic acid in the brain results in overexcitation of neurons, leading to neuronal damage. Neurons in parts of the hippocampus and amygdala are preferentially damaged. I…"

"For those of us who did not understand a word you just said, please translate," Lester said as he walked over and stood next to Becker.

"Basically, the toxin is attacking the part of his brain that stores his memories," the doctor responded. "It's beginning to affect his short term memory as you have already noticed. However, in time it will become more serious unless we are able to find out what this substance is he was injected with."

Abby asked, "What do you mean worse? Do you mean that his entire memory will disappear?"

The doctor nodded slowly, "I am afraid so. I am doing everything I can for him, but without knowing what the toxin is, there is nothing more I can do. I am sorry."

Abby, I promise you, we will find her," Danny said as he held Abby after she collapsed to the ground crying. "We will do whatever it takes. We won't allow Helen to get away with this."

Becker seethed in anger as he watched Danny try to comfort Abby after learning from the doctor what has happened to Connor. He couldn't imagine not having Connor around anymore. He cared about the young man as much as everyone else seemed to and knew that for a genius like him to lose his entire memory would be horrifying.

Becker agreed with what Danny told Abby and was about to say something, but before he could, Lester's cell phone began to ring. Lester pulled it out from his pocket and answered it. As he did so, the man's face fell. On the other end of the line, was Helen Cutter.


	7. Chapter 7

The Heart of the Team

Chapter Seven

As soon as Lester answered his phone, Helen spoke saying, "Hello again, James. It has been awhile. I want you to call your team so that I can speak with the rest of them as well. What I have to say is for all of them."

Lester slowly lowered his phone and turned on the speaker as he replied, "They are all here right now. Go ahead."

"What have you done to Connor, you sadistic witch?" Abby shouted into the phone angrily.

Becker pulled Abby back as Danny said, "We want to know what you've done, Helen. We take it that is why you called us?"

"So you figured out it was me who attacked Connor," Helen responded. "I had a feeling you would. After all, who else would know to find him at the site of an anomaly?"

"Just get to the point!" Abby said angrily. "What did you inject Connor with?"

Helen chuckled and answered, "It is an algae that I found through an anomaly that took me to the early Proterozoic era. I took a sample of it and used it to create a toxin to inject into your boy. Connor was my husband's protégé and the genius of your group. I figured that he would be the perfect one to take out next in order to get what I want."

Danny replied, "Let me guess, you want the artifact. Does that mean you have an antidote for the toxin?"

Helen responded, "No, but isn't hard to make if you have a sample of the algae. I know where the anomaly you need to get it is. I will tell you, if you give me the artifact. Otherwise, you can watch your clever genius suffer and lose all sense of who he is. I take it his life is more important to you, am I right?"

"We will give you the artifact, but we need to know that the information you give us is kosher," Danny answered. "We have to know that Connor will be all right before we give you anything."

Helen replied, "I expected as much. We will be in touch."

With that said Helen hung up, while Lester lowered his phone and looked over at Danny. He wanted to save Connor as much as the rest of them, but giving Helen the artifact was out of the question.

Lester said, "You know that we cannot give her the artifact, Quinn? No matter what Helen says? I don't trust her in the slightest and from the smirk on your face I take it you have a plan?"

"Believe me, I do not trust her either and I don't even know her," Danny responded. "I don't have a plan yet, but we will come up with one before she calls back. I know how important the artifact is to us."

"Whatever we do, we have to make sure Helen tells us the truth about where to get the algae sample," Abby replied. "If the plan fails, we will lose Connor. I'm going to see him now."

Abby walked away from them and enter into the exam room where she found Connor. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, with his back to her and was staring straight ahead as if he were in a trance. Abby walked over to her and gently put her hand on his cheek in hopes of snapping out of the daze. It worked as he lifted his eyes to look into hers, then slowly looked back down to look at his hands in his lap.

"Connor, are you ok?" Abby asked.

"I'm fine, Abby," Connor responded sadly.

Abby sat down next to him and placed her hand under his chin to lift his head to face her and replied, "No, you're not. The doctors told you what was happening with you, didn't they?"

Connor shook his head and answered, "Yes, but they didn't have to. I am losing whole days and you told me I was attacked by Helen. I just had to put two and two together. Even that doesn't take a genius to figure out. She's injected me with something that is erasing my short term memories. In time, it's going to get worse and then I will end up forgetting everything that makes me who I am. I will end up forgetting you.

"You may be a genius, Connor, but that doesn't make you who you are." Abby stated. "You are the kindest, sweetest person I know and you are my best friend. That has nothing to do with why I love you. We will find a way to stop Helen. I promise. Danny, Becker, and Sarah are coming up with a plan right now."

"Did you just say that you love me?" Connor asked.

Abby looked into his eyes once again, leaned over to kiss him on his lips, and then said, "Shut up, Connor."

They continued to kiss, as Danny, Sarah, and Becker observed the scene through the window. Once Abby began to kiss Connor, the three of them walked away to leave them on their own. Lester had already left to go back up to his office to get back to work, on whatever it was that he did.

Two days later, Connor was once again sitting inside Professor Cutter's office going over his notes. He had three more memory lapses since the day he was told what was happening to him. The lapses were becoming more frequent and Connor was becoming more scared than he had ever been in his whole life. However, he kept on working inside the ARC in order to make himself useful to the rest of his team. Luckily, he remembered the conversation he had with the doctors and Abby about what was going on with him. At least, for now he did.

Everyone was getting frustrated waiting for Helen, who still had yet to call back. They knew she was making them wait on purpose, in order to make them feel more desperate to save Connor. It was working, especially on Abby. She kept a close eye on him, but her being there was becoming more and more uncomfortable for him. It just reminded him of what was happening to him.

Lester had overused all of his contracts to try to locate her, even by trying to track down the cell number that showed up from the first call she made. He came up empty. Helen was very good at not wanting to be found.


	8. Chapter 8

The Heart of the Team

Chapter Eight

The next morning, Connor sat in one of the many labs inside the ARC, working on some of his own research. The more lapses he went through, the more frustrated he was becoming. The team had gone off to close off at least two other anomalies that he knew about and because of what was happening to him, he was not able to join them. He was no longer of any use to them.

He had been reading through several of his journals he had been keeping since he joined their crime fighting team, hoping that the information would help to jog his memories that have escaped him. He wasn't just losing hours over the last few days anymore. He was beginning to lose whole memories, such as the day he traveled through his first anomaly to save Abby from some future creature and told her he loved her when they believed they were going to die, he had forgotten about something they called the artifact, and he had no memory of who Stephen or Nick Cutter were.

Everything he knew of these and other memories forgotten were just from words he had written down in a book. Connor read how much the professor meant to him and grew more and more unsettled as he tried to remember the things that he knew he never should have forgotten.

Suddenly, another headache began to come on, as he put the journal down and stood up to head to the infirmary. However, as he did so, he was interrupted as Abby walked into the room. Connor looked at her with a blank face, whispered the words excuse me, and stepped alongside her to try to exit the room.

Abby grabbed his arm and pulled him around to face her as she asked, "Connor, what's wrong?"

Connor answered, "I'm fine. I was just going to lie down. Do I know you?"

"Of course you know me," Abby answered as she looked into his frightened eyes. "I'm Abby. Don't you remember who I am? You don't, do you?"

"No, I…" Connor stuttered as he struggled with trying to remember who she was. "Abby, I can't… Wait, I remember you now, sort of. I have forgotten lots of things, but I can't believe that I am forgetting you. I'm so sorry. According to my journals, this Professor Cutter seemed real important to me, but… Abby what is happening to me? I…"

Before Connor finished what he was saying, he ran out of the room to get away from her as Abby shouted, "Connor, wait!"

She tried to go after him, but she didn't get too far before she lost him. Abby ran back to the room to look at the books he had left opened on the table. She saw that the books were full of Connor's handwriting and as she read the words he wrote, she realized what he was trying to do.

As she read, Danny came in and walked up beside Abby to look at the books she was reading over as he said, "Connor just ran past me in the hall a minute ago. Is he all right? Are you?"

Danny saw that something was terribly wrong as she answered, "No, Danny. Connor has forgotten who Cutter was. He's beginning to forget who I am and probably you and everyone else too. He's really scared, Danny. What is taking so long for Helen to call us back? She wants Connor to forget us."

"She's only trying to make us feel desperate so that we will give her what she wants," Danny replied. "She also knows that if it is too late to help Connor, then she will never get the artifact. She will call us anytime now. I'll go and find Connor. Try not to worry, Abby. The doctors are still working around the clock to try to come up with an antidote for him. We will save him."

"We have to, Danny," she cried. "I love him."

Danny responded, "I know."

Meanwhile…

Captain Becker walked up to Lester's office and knocked on the open door as he entered. As he did so, he noticed a few files on his desk. Lester was on the phone and as soon as Becker came in, he hung up very quickly as if he was trying to hide something.

"Did I interrupt an important phone call?" Becker asked.

"No, not really," Lester replied.

Becker picked up one of the folders and said, "These look like new prospects that may be qualified to work here. Are you looking to replace Connor?"

Lester sighed and responded, "I am only preparing ahead. It isn't like I believe we won't be successful in restoring his memories, but I need to have someone in place in case it should happen. We need a brain on our team."

"Connor is the heart of this team," Danny said as he walked into the office. "He isn't just a genius you can replace because he is no longer able to function the way you want him to."

"I had no intention of just replacing him," Lester answered. "If we are unsuccessful in stopping Helen, I assure you that Connor will remain a part of this team, no matter what."

Danny nodded and replied, "Good. Now, have either of you seen Connor run through here? Abby said he's pretty upset. He's beginning to forget us and he's really scared, she said. I'm trying to find him."

Becker responded, "I haven't seen him, but we can track him down with the surveillance cameras."

Lester began to type some commands on the keyboard hooked up to his computer, while Danny and Becker walked around his desk to take a look at the screen. It took him a minute to pull up the camera feeds that ran throughout the building. As soon as it was up, they saw Connor running through the corridors and then watched him exit the ARC on foot.

Danny and Becker left Lester's office and headed toward the garage so that they would be able to drive around to find him. He shouldn't have been able to get too far yet. The trick was going to be in trying to figure out where he was heading.

Back in the lab, Abby was still reading Connor's journals. The more she read, the more she was amazed at the detailed notes he had kept throughout the years they had been together. It was interesting for her to read about certain events that happened from his point of view.

Suddenly, Abby came to the entry Connor had made about the day she was taken and nearly killed by the beasts from the future, when he had saved her after proclaiming that he loved her. She realized then, that he truly loved her as she was hoping that he did because she loved him just as much.

He wrote, _I hate myself for fighting with Abby before I thought I lost her. The moment I found out she was alive, I was relieved. Then, I told her I loved her when I thought we were both going to die. I stupidly told her it was just because we almost died, but it wasn't true. I do love her. I am just afraid that she won't love me back. I can't tell her how I feel because I am a coward. I just hope that one day, I will have the courage to do so and not right before we might die either._

Abby put the book back down on the table and closed it. Tears were falling down her cheeks for what seemed like the millionth time she's cried since this whole thing began. Abby stood and exited the room to go try to find Sarah. She knew that Danny would find Connor and talk to him. Then, she would stay with him until all this was over.


	9. Chapter 9

The Heart of the Team

Chapter Nine

Danny and Becker searched for Connor for several hours now. Neither one of them could believe that he had disappeared in the short amount of time they had left after him from the ARC. Abby had called them three times to see if they had found him yet. Each time, they've had to tell her that they hadn't.

They searched places that were familiar to him, thinking that even if he had forgotten some of his memories, he may return to one of them searching for some answers. Connor was nowhere to be seen.

"Where on earth would he have gone?" Becker asked. "He probably does not even remember where he lives."

"You're right," Danny responded. "Maybe he isn't going somewhere familiar. Or maybe there is somewhere else that we don't know about."

Becker replied, "If he didn't go back to either Abby's flat or Lester's apartment, then what other places could he go that he would be familiar with?"

Danny thought a moment and then answered, "What about Cutter's grave site? Just because he doesn't remember him, doesn't mean that his subconscious isn't trying to help him do so."

"It's as good a place as any," Becker agreed. "Let's go."

After thirty minutes, they had finally arrived at the graveyard where both Nick Cutter and Stephen Hart were buried. The ground was pretty muddy because it had been raining most of the day. When they reached the professor's grave, Danny knelt down and pointed out footprints in the dirt and tracks that led away from the grounds.

"It looks like he's been here," Becker said to Danny. "The footprints look like they are the right size and the ground was disturbed very recently."

"We need to find him soon, before the rains starts again," Danny replied. "He may have been in the rain all this time and if so, he will get himself sick. He doesn't need that on top of everything else he's gone through."

Becker stood and followed after Danny as they followed the footprints. After a few minutes, they came upon an old office building that had been abandoned after a fire had broken out and destroyed it beyond repair. The tracks led into the building, so both Danny and Becker entered it, hoping that Connor was still inside and all right. It was then that it began to rain again, fairly heavily.

Becker asked, "Why would he come in here? There's nothing here."

Danny responded, "He probably just came in to get out of the cold, before the rain began again. Just be careful. The floors are rotten."

Before they got too far into the building, Danny's phone rang and discovered that it was Lester calling when he looked at the caller id. Danny put the phone to his ear as he pushed the answer button to reply.

"I need the two of you to come back to the ARC now," Lester said after Danny picked up. "It's been hours. Have you had any luck?"

"We think we've tracked him down," Danny answered. "We're in a burned down building near the graveyard where Cutter and Hart are buried. We think he may be in here. If he isn't, I'll send Becker back, while I keep searching for Connor. I won't come back until I've found him."

Lester replied, "I just received a call from Helen. She wants to meet you downtown in two hours to discuss a trade."

Danny looked at Becker and responded, "We'll be back in time, with Connor. Tell Abby not to worry."

"Very good," Lester said as he hung up.

"Helen's finally called," Danny told Becker. "She wants to meet us in two hours, somewhere downtown. We need to find Connor quickly."

Becker said, "If he's here, he's got to be on the top floor. We've already climbed three floors. There's only one left to search, that isn't completely burned."

Danny replied, "He's here. Look!"

As they reached the final floor, they saw from a distance Connor, who was standing on what looked like an outside balcony. He was staring off at a distance and didn't even notice them until they got within a few feet of him. They noticed he was drenched and shaking from the cold. They saw that he was also feverish. Connor was startled as Danny tried to get closer and then backed up toward the edge of the balcony in fear.

Danny called out, "Connor, stop! It's all right. It's me, Danny and Becker. Do you know who we are?"

Connor looked at Danny as he spoke and then turned around to look back outside as he answered, "No, I can't remember. You look as if I should know you, but I don't."

"We're your friends," Danny responded. "We've been looking for you to bring you home. Can you remember anything?"

"I know a little of who I am," Connor said quietly. "I know that I am some kind of genius, but what good am I if I can't remember the important things. I can't remember where I live, I can't remember my friends. This morning, I had forgotten Abby. How could I have done that? How could I be forgetting everything that makes me who I am?"

Danny looked back at Becker and then back at Connor as he replied, "Helen did this to you, Connor. You were poisoned, but we can help you get your memories back."

Connor turned back to face them and asked angrily, "How? How do you know if you can even get my memories back? Does this, Helen know how? What if you can't help me? I will end up with no memories at all. I can't live that way."

"We will help you, Connor," Danny responded as Connor stepped up to the edge of the balcony and held onto the only railing that was left. "I promise. Please, let us. You have people who care about you. Abby loves you very much. Don't give up on us now. Don't give up on yourself."

Connor turned his head to look at Danny, and then at Becker, both of whom were slowly inching their way closer to Connor. Connor saw that Danny held his hand out for him to take a hold of. After a few minutes, Connor finally turned back around and began to reach out for it until he suddenly collapsed. Danny and Becker raced to catch him as he fell backwards off of the balcony. Danny reached Connor first as he grabbed ahold of his left wrist. Becker fell down beside him quickly took ahold of Connor's arm, as they both worked hard to pull him back up. When they finally got him up, they lay him down on the floor inside of the building as gently as they could and knelt down beside him. Connor was unconscious.

"He's burning up," Becker said. "We need to get him back to the ARC right away."

"I'll carry him," Danny replied as he carefully picked Connor up in his arms and ran off as quickly as he could in order to get to the car that was parked outside of the cemetery.

Becker ran ahead of him and started the car. When Danny reached him, he lay Connor across the back seat and jumped in beside him. Becker drove back to the ARC as quickly as he could and as they arrived, Danny pulled Connor back into his arms and ran to the hospital wing. He lay him gently down on a bed and backed away slowly as the doctors quickly surrounded him.

"You need to do whatever you can to help him," Danny said firmly. "He was walking around in this blasted weather for several hours. He's really sick."

Becker stayed in the doorway in order to keep out of the way. Danny stepped back and stood beside Becker. As he did, Becker noticed a tear falling down his cheek. Danny quickly reached up and wiped it away after he noticed Becker looking at him.

Danny didn't cry ever. In fact, the last time that he did was when he learned that his brother had disappeared and was probably dead, back when he was pretty young. This was like watching his kid brother slip away from him all over again.

Becker didn't cry, but he was angry. Connor was the last person he thought he would ever see nearly commit suicide. He saw so much pain and fear in the face of a young man who always managed to laugh and joke around despite the danger they were in often.

Danny spoke up saying, "First, I'm going to find Abby and then I'm going to find out from Lester where I'm supposed to meet Helen to get the antidote. We are going to need all of us for our plan to work. Are you ready?"

Becker nodded as he answered, "Absolutely!"


	10. Chapter 10

The Heart of the Team

Chapter Ten

Abby heard that Danny and Becker had returned with Connor and that they had rushed him once again to the hospital wing. However, she had no idea why. So, she ran from the lab where she was speaking with Sarah, with Sarah following close behind her.

"Connor!" Abby shouted as soon as she entered the room and was held back by Becker. "Let go of me! What happened to him?"

"Connor was wandering around in this blasted weather for way too long, Abby," Danny answered. "He's sick, but it isn't anything these doctors can't handle. He'll be fine."

Abby shoved Becker's arms off of her, but she remained where she stood and replied, "I should have kept chasing after him. If I had, he wouldn't have been alone all that time. Where did you find him?"

Danny looked over at Becker and then responded, "We found him at Cutter's grave site. He may not remember him, but his subconscious obviously helped him to know that he was important to him."

"Did Lester tell you that Helen finally called?" Becker asked. "We need to get going fairly soon. Connor's going to be fine as soon as he's warmed up. We are going to need you too, Abby."

"I need to stay with him," Abby replied as she shook her head. "If I can help him remember, he may not lose his memories so fast."

Danny answered, "If our plan is going to work, we will need you to come with us too. Helen may get suspicious and destroy the antidote if we are not careful. Right now, she has what is most important. We need to find a way to bring the ball back into our court, so to speak."

Abby turned to look at him and responded, "Fine, but give me a few minutes alone with him? I will meet you at the car."

Danny nodded as he and Becker walked out of the room. Sarah walked out with them and was about to say something when her cell phone rang and she walked off to answer it. Danny received a text from Lester that gave the place where Helen had asked them to meet her.

As they walked down the hall and away from the hospital room, Danny turned around to face Becker and said very sternly, "Not a word to Abby or anyone else about Connor nearly committing suicide, especially not a word to him. He wouldn't want anyone to know. Do you understand?"

Becker nodded and answered, "Of course not, you have my word. Connor is the wittiest person I know. I wouldn't want to ruin that. Abby doesn't need to hear about it ever. Now, let's go find a way to save him and finally get rid of Helen once and for all."

"Sounds good to me," Danny agreed.

Abby remained by Connor's side as everyone cleared the room, even the doctors. They had finished hooking him up to the machines and proper IV's that he needed in order for him to survive the fever that was slowly raging throughout his body.

Abby took a seat in the chair that had been set next to his bed earlier, back when this whole mess had just begun. Then, she once again ran her fingers through his hair as a sign of comfort, so that he would at the very least know that she was there.

Even after all the terrifying things they had been through together, Abby had never once seen as much fear on his face than she had earlier when he ran out on her. She also knew that this was the most terrifying experience for her too. She couldn't imagine what it would be like to not be able to remember anything, especially those whom she cared about the most.

Abby stood up from the chair, leaned over to place her mouth close to his left ear, and whispered, "I will come back soon. No matter what happens, I promise that I will never leave you, Connor Temple, even if you cannot remember who I am. I love you."

Abby kissed him on his cheek and then on his lips, then she walked out of the room to go catch up with Danny and Becker. When she had caught up with them in the garage, she saw that both Sarah and Lester were there too.

"I didn't know that you were planning on coming out too, Lester," Abby said as she walked over to them.

"Yes, well I wasn't planning on going until Helen told me she wanted me there to make sure that the rest of you didn't try anything stupid," Lester answered. "I tried to assure her that you wouldn't do anything to risk Connor's life, but she didn't believe me."

Sarah responded, "There's a shock."

Becker spoke up saying, "I don't think that our original plan is going to work. She will expect all of us to be there, even Abby. Besides, Abby may not get a clear shot from wherever she chooses to hide, even if Helen believes that Abby stayed behind to be with Connor."

"That's definitely true," Lester replied. "Chances are, Helen will go back on her word, no matter if we cooperate with her or not and we haven't a clue as to where she plans on taking us once we meet up with her."

"Lester's right," Abby agreed. "Helen's been one step ahead of us this whole time. She's clever and malicious. She killed Nick and with Connor being the one person who understands his work the most, Helen sees him as the next biggest threat to her. She'll do anything to come out on top and my guess is that she will double cross us in order to make sure he is obliterated too."

Sarah asked, "So what do we do now then? Helen is too unpredictable to come up with a plan."

Danny answered, "We will just have to find a way to bring the quid pro quo back on our side. Just pay close attention to her words and actions, as well as to her men. Surely she isn't going to come alone. Helen isn't perfect. She will slip up and when she does, we will take her down. Connor has always been there for us. Now it is our turn to be here for him when he needs us most. We won't let him down."

Abby, Becker, Lester, and Sarah nodded and then drove off toward a crowded carnival that had just rolled into town. Helen had told them to come to the house of mirrors. As they had arrived about thirty minutes later, they found Helen was waiting just outside of the mirrors' entrance. Together, the team walked over to her as she bid them to follow behind her.


	11. Chapter 11

The Heart of the Team

Chapter Eleven

Sarah watched as Abby, Danny, Becker, and Lester left the ARC to meet up with Helen. Then, she walked back to Connor's hospital room to sit with him in hopes of trying to be of some comfort to him, even though she knew that he wouldn't know who she was.

After sitting by his bedside for over an hour, Connor began to wake up. Sarah leaned over and took a hold of his hand while he struggled to open up his eyes. When he was finally able to do so, he looked up into her eyes and pulled his hand out of hers. Sarah saw the fear in his eyes and knew that she was right about him not remembering her.

"It's all right, Connor," Sarah said after a minute of him staring at her. "It's me, Sarah. I'm your friend. You're safe now."

"I'm sorry, but I don't seem to be able to remember you," Connor replied. "Did Danny and that soldier bring me here?"

Sarah asked, "You remember Danny?"

Connor nodded slowly and responded, "Only a little. He came to the graveyard earlier. I couldn't remember him at all at first, but after we talked, a few memories came back. Where is Abby?"

"She is with Danny and Becker right now, helping them to find the antidote that will bring back your memories," she answered. "They will be back in no time and then you will be just fine. You will be able to remember everything."

"You have a sweet and honest face, but I don't think they'll be back in time," Connor replied. "I can barely remember who I am anymore, let alone anything else. Nothing you can say can possibly make things right again. Please just go away."

As Connor finished saying this, he turned his head away from Sarah and refused to speak or listen to her anymore. Sarah stood up and after watching him for a few more minutes from the doorway, she turned and left the room. As soon as she was gone, Connor allowed the tears to fall freely, as he cried quietly.

Meanwhile…

The team followed Helen through the maze in the house of mirrors until they reached a room toward the back of the building. It looked like this was the storage room where the carnival owners held some of their equipment. Three of Helen's men were already inside carrying guns.

When they were all inside the fairly large room, Helen turned around to face them as Helen spoke up first saying, "So this must be Danny Quinn, my husband's replacement. You certainly work pretty fast, don't you, James?"

Lester replied, "Helen, lovely to see you again, as usual, but I am afraid we don't have time for chit-chat. We are here for the antidote. Where is it?"

"Patience, James," Helen responded. "Why can't we talk? It has been awhile."

"Where's the antidote?" Abby shouted as she fought to refrain from going over and punching Helen over and over again. "Hand it over."

Helen looked at Abby and smiled. "You must care a lot for that sweet boy my husband thought so much of. Don't you, Abby? That is, a lot more than just a friend?"

Danny walked up and stood between Abby and Helen, before Abby made a move toward the psychotic woman. He had never met her until now and realized that she did not look the way he had expected her too, but he could see the hate and maliciousness in her eyes. He became angry the moment he brought up Connor and wanted nothing more than to wipe that smug grin off of her face.

Danny said, "You won't get your hands on the artifact until we know that the antidote will help to restore Connor's memories. My guess is that these goons are here for your protection only, seeing as how you will not kill us, that's if you don't want us to take you to the artifact."

"I figured as much," Helen answered as she pulled what looked like a vial from the inside pocket of her jacket. "I assure you that my men won't harm you, unless I see you as a threat to me. Now, I have most of the antidote you need to save your precious boy, but we need to go and get a sample of the algae I used. You can't make an antidote without the poison. I'll take you to the anomaly that will lead us there, but I need some kind of assurance that you will hand over the artifact once we get it. Sorry for not just taking your word for it."

As soon as Helen said this, two of Helen's men stepped forward, grabbed Lester, and put a gun up to their friend's temple. Becker made a move toward them, but slowly backed up when Helen ordered him, Danny, and Abby to stay back unless they wanted her to put a bullet through his head.

Lester spoke saying, "And I thought that you just wanted me here to make sure these kids didn't do anything stupid. I should have realized that it would be you making the stupid move instead."

Danny said, "Let him go, Helen. We won't do anything that will jeopardize Connor, I promise. You don't need to hold Lester too."

"I need some sort of collateral," Helen answered. "Since he signs your paychecks, he seems like the best candidate. One of my men will hold him here while we go on our little outing. Once we get the antidote, you are all satisfied that Connor has returned to his normal, charming self, and the artifact is safely in my hands, then I will return Lester to you. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"

"Do as Helen says, all of you," Lester replied. "Save Connor. He is the highest priority. I'll be fine."

"We'll follow you, Helen," Danny agreed. "But, your man better not harm him. Abby wants nothing more than to kill you. I won't try to stop her if you kill our boss and fail to save Connor."

Helen looked over at Abby, lowered her head so that her face was right in front of hers, and then asked sarcastically, "Do you want to kill me, Abby? Just because I hurt your boyfriend?"

Abby shoved Helen backwards as she answered, "You didn't just hurt him, Helen. You took away everything that made him who he was. You stole his entire life from him. Why didn't you just kill him like you did your own husband? Not that I am not thankful that we have a chance to save him, but what you did to him was cruel, even for you."

Helen responded, "Because killing Nick wasn't enough of a wakeup call to you. I needed to do something much worse to get you all to realize that I will come back harder and stronger as long as you continue to try to stop me. Maybe now, you have finally learned your lesson. Connor was the obvious choice."

Abby could no longer hold back the rage she felt and charged Helen. Abby backhanded Helen hard across her face and then began to kick and punch her over and over, just as she always wanted to do. Helen fought back just as hard. Abby thought about how she once had fought Caroline inside Helen's prison not too long ago and imagined Helen in the woman's place.

Danny and Becker both stepped forward and worked on trying to pull Abby off of Helen. It took a few minutes to do so and when they did, Abby fell into Becker's arms sobbing. Helen backed away and stood near the man holding the gun to Lester's head. She only laughed as she wiped away blood that had come from a now split lip.

"We will stop you one day, Helen," Becker said firmly as he held onto Abby tightly. "One day you will be dead."

"Becker's right," Danny added. "One day, you will pay for this. But today is not that day. We need to go. After you, Helen."

As Helen and her other two men walked out of the room, Danny knelt down by Abby and turned her head toward his as he tried to give her some kind of comfort. After a minute, Becker helped Abby up as she and Danny stood. Danny and Becker turned to look at Lester as he nodded to them. Then, Becker, Danny, and Abby walked out after Helen and followed the woman to the site of the anomaly, not too far away from the carnival.


	12. Chapter 12

The Heart of the Team

Chapter Twelve

Helen and her men led the ARC team through the carnival and into the woods just beyond the gates. Not too far into them, another one of Helen's men stood to the side of an open anomaly. All of them stopped and stood there, waiting for Helen to give the orders.

"How did you know that this anomaly would open up right here, right now?" Becker asked Helen when she turned around to face them. "My cell phone just rang. I'm assuming it's the ARC calling to inform me of a new anomaly opening and your man has been standing here waiting for us to show up."

"That's my little secret," Helen answered. "Now, if you are ready to get your lives back to normal, I suggest that we get going."

Danny, Abby, and Becker cautiously followed Helen and the men through the anomaly. As they stepped out and onto the other side, they felt how damp and cold the dark, strange new world was. What the ARC team didn't see was that as soon as they were out of site of the anomaly, it closed behind them. The man who guarded the site outside of the carnival, one again remained routed to guard the site on this side.

As they walked, Danny looked out of the corner of eyes, noticed Becker reach down to his side where normally his gun would be resting, and then said with a grin, "Feeling a bit naked without your favorite gun, are you, Mate?"

Becker looked back at Danny with a glare and replied, "I don't like walking somewhere unknown without any kind of protection. Forgive me if I do not trust Helen or her thugs to protect us."

"Believe me, I don't trust them either, but they want the artifact," Danny responded. "Nothing will happen to us."

"I still would feel better with my gun," Becker said.

Abby spoke up saying, "So would I. I could have used it to bash Helen's brains in."

Danny and Becker laughed as Danny replied, "Maybe one day when this whole mess is over, you'll still get that chance. Right now, we need to focus on getting the algae for Connor. He's going to be all right, Abby. I promise."

"We are here," Helen said when she and her men came to a stop at one of the bodies of water. Abby, would you like to collect the sample? I have the test tube right here. I take it that you will feel more comfortable holding onto yourself. Am I right?"

"That's right," Abby responded as she grabbed the test tube from Helen's hand.

Helen replied, "All you have to do is get a sample of the algae that is down at the bottom. Then, I will help you mix the algae in with the rest of the antidote that I created. I assure you, it will work."

Abby looked at Helen menacingly and answered, "We'll see about that. It had better save Connor because if it doesn't, I will kill you and neither Danny, nor Becker will be able to stop me. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"

"Perfectly," Helen answered.

Danny watched Helen's face for her reaction to Abby's threat and noticed that she wasn't afraid in the slightest, but despite the grin she wore on her face, Danny could see the slightest hint of anger. He knew that the threat made her angry and the grin was only in place to hide it. The psychotic woman had no problem with making threats, but she became angry when the threats were made against her.

"So, what now?" Abby asked. "We have the sample, now do we return through the anomaly and bring this to the ARC to Connor, or did you want to do something else first?"

"No, we will go to the ARC and you will make sure that I am not apprehended or threatened in any way, or your boss will die," Helen said. "Once Connor is given the antidote and I am given the artifact, only then will Lester be released. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"

Danny responded, "Perfectly."

Meanwhile…

Lester sat on the ground inside the house of mirrors, while Helen's man sat down on a chair, eating pizza and watching television, while waiting to hear from Helen. Lester glared at the man, who paid absolutely no attention to him. He was angry that he was forced to sit on the filthy floor that has now ruined his very expensive suit.

Lester spoke up as he asked, "Are you going to offer me any pizza, or are you just going to continue to ignore me? Not that I particularly like pizza, but since I have been here for a while and God knows how much longer I will be here, any food would do."

Helen's man turned to look at Lester, picked up a slice of pizza from the box, and through it down on the floor at Lester's feet. Then, he turned away and continued to watch the television.

Lester looked at the slice of pizza by his feet, looked back up at the man, and replied, "Well, that wasn't very civilized. A simple no would have sufficed."

The man had gone back to ignoring him, so Lester readjusted his position on the floor and continued to sit in silence until whatever was going to happen, happened. He couldn't help but go back to thinking about the amount of money it would take to replace his suit.

Suddenly, there was a noise that came from inside where the mirrors were. The man slowly lowered his pizza and stood up from the chair. He headed toward the door, quickly glanced back at Lester, who was now sitting up to prepare himself for an attack should one happen, and then turned back to the door to open it.

However, as he did so, the door came crashing open as soldiers from the ARC came rushing into the room. They quickly overpowered Helen's man without any trouble. Then, one of the soldiers walked over and held out his hand for Lester to take a hold of.

"How on earth did you find me?" Lester asked as he stood.

"A little tracking device that Connor had placed inside one of the soles of your shoes, some time ago," the soldier replied. "Miss Maitland said that it would probably come in handy tonight should something happen. We turned on the tracker and well, apparently she was right."

Lester lifted up both feet to look at the soles of his shoes and then responded, "I am going to have to have a talk with that boy about messing with my things. Let's get out of here and back to the ARC. We must see what we can do to locate the others."

"Yes Sir!" the soldier answered.

Lester and the soldiers left the house of mirrors and went back to the ARC as Lester had ordered. After they got back, Lester walked over to the hospital wing to see how Connor was holding up. When he arrived, he found Sarah standing outside the room, watching Connor from the window.

"Thank goodness your back!" Sarah said. "Where are the others?"

"I haven't the slightest idea," Lester answered. "Helen wanted me to come along so that she could hold me hostage, while she took the others through an anomaly that would lead them to the algae she used for her poison. How is Connor?"

Sarah looked over at Lester and sadly replied, "He isn't doing well. I tried to talk with him when he came to, but he's lost, he's scared, and very depressed. He won't speak to me or to the doctors. They had better get back here soon. I don't think his memories will last another hour."

Lester turned to look at Connor through the glass window and responded, "They'll be back, somehow. By the way, did you know about the tracking device that Connor had put inside my shoes?"

"No, I didn't," Sarah answered. "But I suppose that it's a good thing he did it. Becker's men never would have found you if he hadn't."

"Yes, I suppose it was a good idea," Becker said. "Except, now I have to go out and buy not only a new suit, but a new pair of shoes as well. I will be sure to thank him when he is feeling better."


	13. Chapter 13

The Heart of the Team

Chapter Thirteen

Once Abby had finished collecting the algae sample, she stood up and stood beside Danny and Becker, after she had placed the test tube inside her front coat pocket. Helen walked over and stood in front of them and then turned to walk back toward the anomaly site, once again followed by her men.

After a few minutes of walking, the three team members watched as Helen placed her radio toward her mouth and spoke to someone. However, Helen walked far enough ahead and quietly enough that they could not hear what it was she had said. What they couldn't hear was that she had ordered her man who stood guard at the site, to once again open the anomaly before they arrived back there.

Danny and Becker talked quietly amongst themselves about the next step in their plan, while Abby kept quiet. She had her mind on Connor, as she remembered some good memories that the two of them had shared since they had met years ago.

Once they arrived back at the anomaly, Helen stepped back and watched as her men, Danny, Abby, and Becker all walked through. Then, she followed behind them. Once they made it back to their time, Helen once again took the lead and guided them over to a car that waited for them.

Helen was the first to speak up saying, "Now, the three of you are going to guide me and my two men back to the ARC to pick up the artifact. My third man will go back to the house of mirrors to make sure that your boss is comfortable. If everything goes well, Connor will be back to normal in no time, your boss will be returned to give each of you orders, and we will all be happy."

Abby replied, "Even if this antidote works to restore Connor's memories, he will not be back to normal in no time. This will haunt him for the rest of his life, knowing how close he came to not remembering everyone and everything that he ever cared about. It will take time to convince him to stop blaming himself for allowing this all to happen to him. You will die for this, Helen. One day, I promise."

"That anger that you're feeling right now will one day kill you, Abby," Helen responded. "I am sure that it will probably get you killed before my actions get me killed. I'd learn to control your temper if I were you."

"Let's just get this whole mess over with," Danny said before another fight broke out between them. "Connor will not be able to last much longer. By the way, Helen, if this antidote does not work, we will hunt you down and believe me, we are capable of finding you. You will suffer to the full extent of the law for the crimes you have committed."

Before things became heated again, Becker cut in, "Let's just get back to the ARC. It would probably be best if we drove back in silence."

Becker drove Danny, Abby, and Helen in one car and Helen's men drove behind them in another car, while Helen's man walked back to the carnival to check up on his team mate and Lester.

As he walked through the house of mirrors and to the office, he found the door was open. The mercenary raised his gun, slowly walked into the room, and when he did so, he found no one inside. The man walked throughout the room and as he did so, the barrel of a gun suddenly was put up to the spine of his back.

When the man turned to look at who was holding the gun to him, the soldier spoke up saying, "I suggest that you come back to the ARC with me quietly or I won't hesitate to put a bullet through your arm. It'll be even worse if you try to resist arrest. Do I make myself clear?"

Helen's man answered, "No problem, Mate."

Meanwhile…

Once they pulled into the garage of the ARC, everyone stepped out of the car and as Helen did so, she grabbed a hold of Abby and put a gun to her head. Danny and Becker tried to stop her, but without weapons, there was nothing that they could do.

"No offense to you, but this is just for a little more precaution," Helen said as she faced them. "I feel better now."

Becker and Danny turned around and headed to the hospital wing, followed by Helen, who kept the gun trained on Abby. Once they reached it, Abby pulled the test tube from her pocket and handed the antidote over to the head doctor working on Connor. As she ran off to Connor's room, another doctor stepped over to speak with the team about his condition. Sarah walked over to them and remained silent as the doctor began to talk.

"Right now, Connor is unconscious," the doctor said. "Earlier, he seemed fine. It was just within the last hour that his temperature began to rise. Even though he refused to talk to anyone, Dr. Page saw that Connor's headaches were growing worse. He fell unconscious about twenty minutes ago. I don't know if the antidote is going to work anymore. I'm so sorry."

"Connor will fight it," Abby replied firmly.

It was then that Abby used her left hand to push the gun away from her head and elbowed Helen in the chest with her right arm. The distraction was long enough for Abby to get away from her and run into Connor's room. However, it was not long enough for Becker or Danny to get their hands on a weapon before Helen brought her own back up. Soldiers surrounded her and stood behind both Becker and Danny, one of whom gave both Danny and Becker a weapon as well.

Helen angrily responded, "I have given you the antidote as promised. Now it is your turn to keep your end of our bargain. Hand over the artifact right now, or I will give orders to my men to finish off your boss."

"I think that you will find that pretty difficult to do, seeing as how I am here safe and sound and your men are here locked up in a prison cell," Lester stated as he walked into the hospital wing. "So sorry to disappoint you, Helen."

"You didn't think we would come to you obediently without coming up with a plan of our own, did you, Helen?" Danny asked. "We know better than that. There was a tracking device inside one of the soles of Lester's shoes. Our men here tracked him down and brought your man into custody. We figured that you would hold Lester while we went with you. You're under arrest, Helen. Same goes for your men."

Helen glared at them all and replied, "I don't think so."

Helen and her men fired shots toward Danny and the others and began to run through the ARC in order to escape. Danny, Becker, and Becker's men chased after them and were easily able to bring down Helen's men. However, Helen once again managed to escape without a trace. Lester ordered the soldiers to keep searching for her, while Danny, Becker, and Lester walked back to Connor's room to make sure he was doing all right.

Abby was sitting at his bedside when they walked in and she was the first to speak up without looking up saying, "The antidote is working its way through his system now. We won't know anything until he wakes up. Helen got away again, didn't she?"

Danny walked over and answered, "Yeah, I'm afraid so, but we stopped her, Abby. I promise you that we will find her and make her pay for what she's done. No one will be left alone until she's been caught. Nothing like this will happen again."

After a day and a half, Connor had yet to wake up. Abby hardly left his bedside at all, except to get something to eat or some rest and Danny had to fight her to get her to do so. Danny, Sarah, and Becker came in the room carrying a few chairs and took a seat next to Abby and Connor's bedside. Together they talked for about a half hour, when Connor began to come to.

They all stood and gathered around the bed as Connor struggled to sit up. Abby helped him to get comfortable as she helped him move the pillows behind his back and neck. They waited patiently for him to say anything, but instead he seemed to struggle with words.

Danny spoke up finally as she said, "Connor, how are you feeling? Do you know who we are?"

Connor looked over at her and replied, "I think you and Becker owe me twenty dollars from lunch, however long ago it was that you borrowed it from me was."

Abby, Danny, Becker, and Sarah laughed and then Abby bent down and kissed Connor on the lips. Danny and Becker both patted him on his shoulders and Sarah bent down to kiss him on the cheek.

"We are so happy to have you back," Abby said. "I was so scared that you would never be yourself again. Not that I missed all of your useless movie and video game trivia and quotes, but I missed you."

"We all missed you, Kid," Becker added. "I'm sorry that I left you alone that day in the tunnel. I shouldn't have."

Connor looked over at him and replied, "It wasn't your fault. You couldn't have known that Helen was going to make an attack against me or anyone else. I'm sorry about your men."

Becker nodded as Danny asked, "How much do you remember about the last few days?"

"I only remember bits and pieces," Connor responded. "Although, these are memories that I wish that I could forget. Thank you all for doing everything you did for me."

"You just concentrate on feeling better," Sarah replied. "We'll be back to visit you soon."

"Welcome back, Connor," Lester said as he walked into the room. "I assume you'll be ready to begin working again, say tomorrow?"

Danny looked over at Lester and answered, "After everything that he's been through, he deserves at least a week."

Connor replied, "Thanks, Danny, but Lester's right. I'd rather jump right back on the horse, so to speak. I'll be happy to feel useful to you guys again. I'll be ready, Sir."

"Very good," the team's boss said. "By the way, Connor, when was it that you planted a tracking device in the soles of my shoes and why?"

"Oh, it was back when we weren't sure who was the leak on our team," Connor answered. "You know, back when Leek betrayed us with Helen? The tracking device was Cutter's idea."

Lester responded, "I see. Well do not ever tamper with my shoes or clothing again, or I will start abducting it from your salary."

Lester and Sarah walked out of the room as Abby bent down to kiss him on the cheek and followed out after them. Danny and Becker started toward the door when Connor grabbed ahold of Danny's arm and asked them to hold on.

He said, "I don't remember everything that went on the other day in the building at the graveyard, but I remember enough. Please don't tell Abby or anyone else about what I almost did."

They both nodded as Danny replied, "You have our word. That wasn't you, Connor. Believe me, we can only imagine how scared you must have felt to lose everything. It's good to have you back. Now, get some sleep. We'll see you later."

"Thank you," Connor said."

"Anytime, Mate," Becker responded.

Connor was back at work the next day and Abby and Connor were once again acting too afraid to admit their feelings for each other. Things were returning back to normal as everyone expected it to. Little did they realize that Helen already had started her next plan to complete her mission and this time, she knew that she would not fail to get her hands on the artifact once and for all. Soon, she would wipe out the entire human race and the team from the ARC would not be able to stop her in time.

The End


	14. Thank You

Thank you to all of those who have read and have written reviews for my stories! They are much appreciated. I'm honored to have you all for fans and I hope to hear from you again in the future, should you choose to read and enjoy more of my work. Best of wishes to you all!

Sincerely,

Genevieve Kelly


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